Roof planking

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed herein a new roof construction wherein the roofing material is in the form of planks and may be secured directly to rafters, eliminating the need for sheathing and a moisture barrier or membrane such as felt sheeting. The planking has a particular lock joint arrangement which, along with joint drain clips, provides a watertight construction. The exposed surfaces of the planks may be textured to simulate shakes, shingles, tiles or any other texture or pattern desired, and the planks may be of laminated construction, such as of plywood. Not only is the construction watertight, but it is particularly structurally sound and with no exposed fasteners, such as nails and the like. The planks may be readily mass produced and then shipped to the site for installation. A fireproof coating and coloring may be applied to the planks during manufacture thereof.

United States Patent m lnventor Jouph P.1(nelsel' 3920 El Lado Drive, La Crescenta, Calli.

91214 [21] Appl.No. 885,148 [22] Filed Dec.15,l969 [45] Patented Dee.7, 1971 [54] ROOFPLANKING 10Clalrns,1lDrawlngFlgs.

[52] 115.61. 52/533, 52/539 [51] 1nt.Cl. E04dl/36 [50] FleldolSearch 52/539, 586,533,560

561 1 References Cited 9 UNITED STATES PATENTS 492,736 2/1893 Shull 52/539 2,241,642 5/1941 MeCau1ey.. 52/539 2,279,382 4/1942 Swenson..... 52/539 2,390,087 12/1945 Fink 52/539X 3,276,797 10/1966 l-lumes. .lr 3,284,967 11/1966 Elliott et al. 52/539 X 3,434,260 3/1969 Carter 52/533 X Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott 3 Assistant Examiner-Sam D. Burke Attorney-Lyon & Lyon ABSTRACT: There is disclosed herein a new roof construction wherein the roofing material is in the form of planks and may be secured directly to rafters, eliminating the need for sheathing and a moisture barrier or membrane such as felt sheeting. The planking has a particular lock joint arrangement ROOF PLANKING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a new roof construction and more particularly to a sturdy and watertight roof construction for buildings, and the like, and which eliminates the need for the installation of certain materials used in typical roof constructions.

There are many types of roofs and roof constructions which are well known and have been used for many years. In fact, many current day roof constructions are relatively primitive. They generally are not waterproof, although they do shed water, are not of durable construction, and are relatively costly. Y

The typical roof is applied to the rafters of the building. First, sheathing is nailed to the rafters. Such sheathing usually is in the form of plywood sheets, or I by 4 boards laid several inches apart. Then, a layer of felt, such as 15 pound felt, is laid over the sheathing. Finally, individual shingles, usually asphalt or shake, are nailed to the underlying materials, one at a time.

Roof construction of this nature suffers from a number of disadvantages in addition to the high cost of the various materials and installation. Such shingles do not seal themselves on top of each other because both sides usually are rough. They tend to shrink apart and curl. Only the felt, which serves as a membrane, prevents. leaking; however, the nails which hold the shingles puncture the felt giving rise to leaks. in order to facilitate more rapid installation, minimum and insufficient nailing is a common practice. This gives rise to an unsturdy construction. Also, in the event of rain and a slight wind, water is easily blown underneath the shingles, and under severe wind conditions the shingles can be blown completely from the roof.

Other types of roof constructions involve tar paper and rock, ceramic tiles, aluminum, and so forth. The tar paper and rock construction is relatively cheap, but is less durable than shingle roofs because the tar paper deteriorates from exposure to the sun. A ceramic tile roof requires a very heavy rafter and sheathing structure, and still requires a membrane which is punctured with nails which hold the furring to which the tiles are secured. Aluminum shingles have all the constructional disadvantages of wood shingles plus the fact that they are extremely fragile and cannot be walked upon after installation.

Turning again to prior art shingle, pane or plank-type roofs, several having been devised employing various types of joints between the roofing units. Each involves certain deficiencies. Typically, no provision is made for correction of accumulated error, without disturbing the integrity of the joint, when laying the various courses of the roofing units. Subsequent shrinkage of the material renders the joint ineffective from both a structural and waterproofing standpoint. Other roofing configurations have very complex joints, but they involve water leakage problems and costly manufacturing procedures and equipment. In many instances, the securing nails are exposed thereby giving rise to ultimate corrosion as well as leakage problems. Others must be installed from the roof ridge down which causes problems at the eave line. Examples of patents illustrating joints similar to those which have been used in roofing construction are found in US. Pat. No. 492,736, 2,013,218, 2,241,642, 2,390,087 and 2,659,938.

n the other hand, the present inventive concepts involve a new roof construction which obviates many, if not all, of the disadvantages of prior constructions, and has several novel and important features. The roof construction is in the form of planks, typically l-foot wide and in 9-, 10- andl2-foot lengths, having a relatively simple but sturdy and watertight lock joint construction. The construction enables the planks to be applied directly to rafters without the requirement for underlying sheathing and felt or tar paper. Clips of a predetermined configuration are employed at the ends of each plank to provide a watertight construction and to provide a water drain. A novel arrangement for capping the top of the roof also is provided.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a new roof construction.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel roof planking which may be applied directly to rafters while still providing a sturdy and watertight construction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new construction for roofs which facilitates assembly of the roof.

An additional object of this invention is to provide roof planking which can be made to simulate shingles or shakes, and can be readily mass produced and installed relatively inexpensively while still providing a sturdy roof construction.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel clip for use with adjoining planks.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel cap arrangement for roofs.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will become better understood through a consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a section of a roof constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIGS. 2a and 2b are cross-sectional views of the roof construction of the present invention;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are cross-sectional views of a plank and a starter strip, respectively, of the roof construction of the present invention;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are views illustrating a clip and the manner in which it is used in the present roof construction; and

FIGS. 5a through 5d illustrate capping arrangements for a roof.

Turning now to the drawings, a roof constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention may be applied directly to the rafters, such as rafters 10 through 12, of a building or other enclosure. The construction includes a plurality of planks, such as planks 13 through 18 which are nailed directly to the rafters. Each plank typically is manufactured 1- foot wide and in lengths of 9, 10 or 12 feet. The planks typically are of wood and may be made of plywood in a conventional manner; however, lumber and other suitable materials may be used. The upper surface of the planks may be textured to simulate a plurality of shingles or shakes as illustrated by numeral 19 in FIG. 1, and the shingles may be colored and fireproofed at the time of manufacture. Any suitable type of decorative finish may be applied. Examples are the texturing shown, various types of grooves, striations, and'the like. The bottom surfaces of the planks are flat.

Plywood planks are preferred because of the added strength over solid wood construction. In the case of plywood, it may be made in any number of the usual layers typically five or seven laminations. The core may be wood, or may be formed of other materials such as styrofoam plastics or presently known sponge-type stone materials. Plywood itself is generally difficult to burn, and with an added fireproofing coating, a particularly suitable roof can be provided. The planks can be manufactured with conventional mill machines, and may be textured in any conventional manner, as for example by the method and apparatus described and illustrated in US. Pat. No. 3,294,014, issued Dec. 17, 1966, entitled Deep Cavity Die Burning Apparatus and Process, in the name of Joseph P. Kneisel.

Briefly, the roof as illustrated in FIG. 1 is layed up by nailing a starter strip 22 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3b which will be described in more detail subsequently, to the ends of the rafters at the eaves. Then, the first plank 13 is nailed to the rafters, the second plank 14 nailed to the rafters, and so forth. The nails are applied to the planks at predetermined points near the upper edge of each plank. A colored line may be applied to the plank during manufacture to identify the proper place for nailing. After the first course of planks is laid, any excess at the end of the course can be sawed off and the resulting piece used as the first plank 15 of the next course. The planks preferably are staggered. The lower edge of the planks overlie 1:31pm ymn:

the nails at the upper edges of the next lower course of planks as will be described in more detail subsequently.

Turning now to a more detailed consideration of the particular plank configuration, FIG. 2a is a cross-sectional view taken along a line 2a-2a of FIG. 1. The starter strip 22 is nailed to the rafters at 23. The first plank 13 is mated with the starter strip 22 and nailed at 25. Planks 16 and 17 are similarly applied and mailed to the rafters. FIG. 2b illustrates the v manner in which a plank 27 may be slid back from a shingle 26 for error correction while laying the courses or, alternatively, shows these shingles after some shrinkage has taken place. In both cases the resilient material or gasket maintains a watertight joint. FIG. 2b also shows the integrity of the joint 28 as far as structural and watertight considerations are concerned. The details of the joint will be covered more completely in the discussion of FIG. 30 below.

FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional end view of one plank 30 and FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional end view of a starter strip 22 with which the first course of planks is mated. The plank 30 in FIG. 3a may be made of solid wood, but preferably is made of plywood. The plywood plank as shown includes three layers 31 through 33. Dotted lines 34 indicate the exterior configuration of an original plywood plank from which two planks like plank 30 are made. Such a plywood plank typically is laid up in a conventional manner with exterior glue in a threeor fiveply form, typically 4 feet by three-eighths inch wide from which four 12-inch wide (as viewed from left to right in FIG. 3a) original planks are obtained. Each original plank then is cut apart at 35 in half to provide two planks like plank 30. As noted earlier, each plank and thus each starter plank, may be any desired length, such as 9 feet, feet or I2 feet.

Various cuts are made in the plank 30 after the two have been cut apart. The bottom flat surface 36 provides a reference plane for making the various cuts which can be made with conventional routing equipment. The capital letters in FIG. 3a indicate the various dimensions, and preferable dimensions (in inches) are as follows: A-l2; B2.25; C-l.5; D-0.5625; E, F, G and I-l-0.25; 1-0.0625, and 1-0.50. It will be noted that the dimensions C and J allow a 2-inch overhang of one plank over another when they are laid in courses. The relatively long tongue 38 provided by the dimension allows for error correction when laying courses and allows for shrinkage while still providing a strong joint. Also, the greater depth of dimension D over dimension J also aids in accommodating shrinkage or expansion.

It will be apparent that the groove 39 of an upper course of planks 30 mates with the tongue 38 of the next lower course of planks. The top surface, which is part of surface 41, of the tongue 38 is inclined and the bottom thereof is flat. In the case of the first course of shingles, the groove 39 mates with the tongue 40 of the starter strip 22. The upper surface 41 of the shingle preferably is textured, at least near the forward end 42. The starter strip 22 may also be laminated, but preferably is solid inasmuch as it serves also as a facing strip at the lower edge of the roof.

A bead of resilient material 43 is provided on the inclined surface 44 as seen in FIG. 3a to provide a seal which overlies the nailheads for the next lower course as seen in FIGS. 2a and 2b. Preferably a rubber mastic is used and is applied during manufacturing. When a course of planks is laid, a shearing action, plus pressure because of the wedge shape of joint surfaces at the edge of the planks, in forming the joint is obtained. Thus, there is a combination of a shearing and wedging or compression action on the resilient material 43 which forms a good seal even if there are indentations in the plank surfaces at the joint. Reference numeral 45 identifies a nail line, which may be imprinted on the upper surface 41 in red. It will be apparent from the figures that the seal provided by the material 43 occurs over the nail and seals the nailhead.

Starting with the strip 22 and then laying courses upwardly along the rafters, as compared with working from the top of the roof down, also aids in enabling a roof construction without exposed nails. The starter strip 22 gives a thick look to the edge of the roof. Each course is locked tight and will not leak or distort by walking on the roof. The gasket 43 compensates for the increased spacing at the joint between adjacent courses where one course is not tightly locked with the next because of error correction or shrinkage as seen in FIG. 2b. The abutted ends of the planks are locked and supported on both the top and bottom of each joint. No membrane is needed because the roof is watertight. The texturing I9 is principally at the front portion of the plank and any such texturing should taper off before the area of the tongue 38. The texturing may include grooves 20 to better simulate a plurality of shingles or shakes.

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate the manner in which the ends of the planks are abutted and provided with a joint-drain clip 50. Each end of each plank is provided with a slot for receiving the drain slip. Thus, planks 51 and 52 have respective facing slots 53 and 54 therein. When these planks are abutted as seen in FIGS. 4a and 4b, the drain clip 50 may be hammered into the slots. The clip provides a resistance fit and is driven in with a mallet. The clip preferably is made of galvanized steel, but may be made of any other suitable metal or plastic. If made of metal, it may be bent from a single sheet, and if made of plastic it may be extruded or die cast.

Various types of clips for securing together pieces of wood for roofs, siding and so forth are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 152,892, 175,796, 2,127,199, 2,835,938 and 3,085,301. Such clips are used for holding and'decorative purposes, but are different from the present clip and not satisfactory for the present application.

The clip 50 includes a base 56, and upturned upper end tab 57 and a downtumed lower end tab 58. The clip also includes upstanding sidewalls 59 and 60. The sidewalls 59 and 60 may be substantially perpendicular to the base 56, or may extend upwardly at a diverging or converging angle. The upper tab 57 provides a seal at the upper end of the joint between the shingles 51 and 52 to prevent water from blowing into the joint between adjacent courses of shingles. The lower tab 58 covers the small space 62 existing between the abutting ends of the shingles 51 and 52. The base 56, as will be apparent, provides a drain for any water blowing into the slots 53-54, or falling into the space 63 at the upper part of the abutting ends of the plank joint 51 and 52.

It will be apparent that the abutting end construction of the planks as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b requires only a saw kerf slot in both ends of each plank, thereby facilitating manufacture. The clip 50 is rigid enough to be driven into the resulting slots, because of the channel design thereof. The sides 59 and 60 of the clip 50 preferably are slightly larger than the height of the slots 53 and 54 so that the clip embeds itself into the plank material as the clip is driven in. The tab 57 blocks the drainage slots against water being blown through the rear of the joint between courses and the tab 58 blocks water from being blown up the joint between the ends of the shingle beneath the clip, and also acts as a stiffener and driving head.

FIGS. 5a through 5d illustrate the manner in which the ridge of the roof is capped. A cap-locking strip 70 is nailed to the upper courses of shingles 71 and 72. The cap-locking strip includes two-strip sections 73 and 74 which may be of wood and are hinged together by waterproof tape 75, such as that sold under the name Tedlar. The inside edges 76 and 77 of the strip sections 73 and 74 are bevelled, as best seen in FIGS. 5b and 50, to allow the cap-locking strip 70 to accommodate any pitch roof. In this manner, the locking strip will easily fit the upper edges of the planks regardless of the pitch of the roof. The strip 70 is manufactured in 9, 10 or 12-foot lengths, as are the planks.

The strip 70 is nailed to the upper courses of planks by nails 78. Then, a plurality of caps, like caps 80 and 81 are snapped onto the cap-locking strip 70. These caps may be formed of metal or plastic and typically are made in 2-foot lengths. These caps may have decorative striations, have a decorative color, or the like. Typically, they are manufactured in the bent configuration illustrated in FIG. 50 for the typical minimum mints "mm-o pitch roof of one-to-three, but a small brake may be used during installation of the roof to bend the faces 82 and 83 of each cap together to accommodate the pitch of the roof being installed. The cap 80 is an end cap and thus has end skirts 85 and 86. Each of the caps has side skirts 87 and 88 which fit over the respective outer edges of the sections 73 and 74 of the locking strip 70.

it will be apparent that the installer merely nails on the caplocking strip 70, and then snaps on the various caps like caps 80 and 81. In this manner, a sturdy and watertight construction is provided at the top of the roof.

FIG. 5d illustrates an alternative cap configuration wherein the cap 90 is similar to the cap 81 but the side skirts 91, instead of being rectangular as is the side skirt 87 in FIG. 5a, is trapezoidal in shape such that one end 92 of the cap is higher than the other end 93. Each of these caps includes skirts 94 and 95 at one end and tabs 96 and 97 at the other. The skirts 94 and 95 overlap the tabs 96 and 97 of adjacent caps. The caps (not shown) used at both ends of the ridge of the roof have skirts, similar to the skirts 85 and 86 of cap 80, of a suitable length to cover the ends of the cap-locking strip 70.

The relatively short caps (such as 2 feet each) facilitate capping the roof as compared to the use of one single long cap extending the length of the ridge, and also provide a more pleasing appearance. The finish on the caps can be the same as that for the shingles, such as textured, colored and so forth. Standard flashing, and the like may be used around chimneys, vent pipes and other protrusions from the roof structure.

The present embodiment of this invention is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

What is claimed is:

l. A roof structure which may be applied to the rafters of a building or the like comprising:-

a plurality of planks having a length between the ends thereof substantially greater than the width between the edges thereof,

said planks having a lower, substantially planar surface and an upper surface inclined with respect to said lower surface and terminating in a tongue along the first upper edge thereof,

the second lower edge of each of said planks including a groove for mating with the tongue of an adjacent plank,

a recessed inclined surface adjacent the upper surface, of

said groove a bead of resilient material along said recessed inclined surface which is adjacent said groove near said second lower edge of each plank, said bead abutting and being compressed between the recessed inclined surface and the upper surface of an adjacent plank, whereby said bead performs a sealing and nonload bearing function,

the ends of each of said planks having a slot therein forming a receptacle, and 5 clip means mounted within the receptacles defined by the end slots of adjacent planks.

2. A roof structure as in claim 1 wherein each of said planks is made of plywood.

3. A roof structure as in claim 1 wherein the depth of each of said grooves at the second lower edge of each plank is substantially deeper than the length of the tongue at the first edge of each plank to allow securing means to be applied through the first edge of each plank near the first upper edge thereof and inside the tongue thereof and the securing means to be covered bythe second lower edge of the respective mating plank.

4. A roof structure as in claim 3 wherein the upper surface of each of said tongues is substantially coextensive with the upper surface of each respective plank and the lower surface of each tongue is spaced above the lower surface of each respective plank thereby defining a substantially wedge-shaped tongue for each plank,

each of said grooves are wedge shaped for mating with the top ue of an ad'acent plank, the bottom surface of each sai groove an the lower surface of each mating tongue being spaced substantially equidistant from the lower surface of each respective plank, and

said recessed inclined surface adjacent said groove is a planar area with its surface parallel to the upper surface of said groove.

5. A roof structure as in claim 1 wherein each of said clip means comprises a unitary member having a relatively flat base of a length substantially coextensive with the length of said end slots, a pair of upturned sides slightly taller than the height of said end slots, an upturned end extending upwardly from said base, and a downturned tab extending downwardly from said base.

6. The roof structure of claim 1 wherein said clip means comprises:

a unitary member fabricated from a material having some elasticity and having a relatively flat base of a length substantially coextensive with the length of said slots, a pair of upturned sides turned inwardly and forming an angle of less than with respect to said base, an upturned end extending upwardly from said base and downturned end extending downwardly from said base.

7. A roof structure comprising:

' an elongated member in the form of a plank having upper and lower surfaces and having a length between the ends substantially greater than the width between the edges thereof, said lower surface being substantially planar and said upper surface being inclined with respect to said lower surface and terminating in a tongue at the upper edge of said member, the lower edge of said member being undercut and including a groove in said undercut portion of said lower edge for mating with the tongue of another member, said groove being substantially deeper than the length of said tongue a recessed inclined surface adjacent the upper surface of said groove, the bottom surface of said groove and the lower surface of said tongue being spaced substantially equidistant from said lower surface, and

a bead of resilient material affixed on said recessed inclined surface which is adjacentsaid groove whereby said bead is capable of performing a sealing and nonload bearing function with an identical adjacent plank.

8. A roof plank as in claim 7 wherein said bead of resilient material is spaced away from the lower edge of said elongated member.

9. A plank as in claim 7 wherein the ends of said member include slots for receiving an end joint sealing and drain clip, said slots being inclined with respect to said lower surface of said member.

10. A plank as in claim 7 wherein said member is formed of plywood. 

1. A roof structure which may be applied to the rafters of a building or the like comprising: a plurality of planks having a length between the ends thereof substantially greater than the width between the edges thereof, said planks having a lower, substantially planar surface and an upper surface inclined with respect to said lower surface and terminating in a tongue along the first upper edge thereof, the second lower edge of each of said planks including a groove for mating with the tongue of an adjacent plank, a recessed inclined surface adjacent the upper surface, of said groove a bead of resilient material along said recessed inclined surface which is adjacent said groove near said second lower edge of each plank, said bead abutting and being compressed between the recessed inclined surface and the upper surface of an adjacent plank, whereby said bead performs a sealing and nonload bearing function, the ends of each of said planks having a slot therein forming a receptacle, and clip means mounted within the receptacles defined by the end slots of adjacent planks.
 2. A roof structure as in claim 1 wherein each of said planks is made of plywood.
 3. A roof structure as in claim 1 wherein the depth of each of said grooves at the second lower edge of each plank is substantially deeper than the length of the tongue at the first edge of each plank to allow securing means to be applied through the first edge of each plank near the first upper edge thereof and inside the tongue thereof and the securing means to be covered by the second lower edge of the respective mating plank.
 4. A roof structure as in claim 3 wherein the upper surface of each of said tongues is substantially coextensive with the upper surface of each respective plank and the lower surface of each tongue is spaced above the lower surface of each respective plank thereby defining a substantially wedge-shaped tongue for each plank, each of said grooves are wedge shaped for mating with the tongue of an adjacent plank, the bottom surface of each said groove and the lower surface of each mating tongue being spaced substantially equidistant from the lower surface of each respective plank, and said recessed inclined surface adjacent said groove is a planar area with its surface parallel to the upper surface of said groove.
 5. A roof structure as in claim 1 wherein each of said clip means comprises a unitary member having a relatively flat base of a length substantially coextensive with the length of said end slots, a pair of upturned sides slightly taller than the height of said end slots, an upturned end extending upwardly from said base, and a downturned tab extending downwardly from said base.
 6. The roof structure of claim 1 wherein said clip means comprises: a unitary member fabricated from a material having some elasticity and having a relatively flat base of a length substantially coextensive with the length of said slots, a pair of upturned sides turned inwardly and forming an angle of less than 90* with respect to said base, an upturned end extending upwardly from said base and downturned end extending downwardly from said base.
 7. A roof structure comprising: an elongated member in the form of a plank having upper and lower surfaces and having a length between the ends substantially greater than the width between the edges thereof, said lower surface being substantially planar and said upper surface being inclined with respect to said lower surface and terminating in a tongue at the upper edge of said member, the lower edge of said member being undercut and including a groove in said undercut portion of said lower edge for mating with the tongue of another member, said groove being substantially deeper than the length of said tongue a recessed inclined surface adjacent the upper surface of said groove, the bottom surface of said groove and the lower surface of said tongue being spaced substantially equidistant from said lower surface, and a bead of resilient material affixed on said recessed inclined surface which is adjacent said groove whereby said bead is capable of performing a sealing and nonload bearing function with an identical adjacent plank.
 8. A roof plank as in claim 7 wherein said bead of resilient material is spaced away from the lower edge of said elongated member.
 9. A plank as in claim 7 wherein the ends of said member include slots for receiving an end joint sealing and drain clip, said slots being inclined with respect to said lower surface of said member.
 10. A plank as in claim 7 wherein said member is formed of plywood. 